The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is allocating $1 million in funding to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help Egypt enhance radiation therapy for cancer patients through the provision of a medical linear accelerator, or “LINAC.”
This $1 million in funding is part of a much larger effort by the United States to improve the lives of people in countries around the world by funding projects that further the peaceful uses of nuclear technologies through the IAEA.
The IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Program is helping Egypt improve quality management systems in radiation oncology and enhance the provision of clinical services by removing and replacing a radioactive source-based machine with a LINAC. LINACs use electricity, rather than a radioactive source, to generate high energy beams of X-rays or electrons that can be used in treating cancer.
The NNSA’s Office of Radiological Security responds to assistance requests from domestic and international partners in more than 80 countries to enhance the security of high-activity radioactive sources and promote the adoption and development of alternative technologies, such as LINACs, to reduce overall reliance on radioactive sources.
This is just the most recent example in a long line of joint U.S.-Egypt cancer treatment projects, many led by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which work to support the health of Egyptians, especially in this difficult time of COVID-19.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy – Cairo, Egypt.
